Artemis Fowl and the Sons of Haven
by TheFirstElf
Summary: Artemis Fowl signs on to be a consultant to the LEP. Little does he know that his newest job will put him in the most danger he has ever been, as he is put face to face with a revolutionary terrorist organization.
1. Author's Note

A few notes on this FanFiction.

I used to write Fanfics a couple of years ago. I wrote a quite a few on Artemis Fowl, however, I was much younger then and my writing is, as a result, rushed, juvenile and all in all not appealing. I want to fix that. Re-reading my fanfictions has left me with the desire to give my ideas, my stories justice, the kind that my previous writing simply could not do.

As a result, I present to you this fanfic. Consider it a summation of a various other fanfictions put together, primarily Artemis Fowl and the First through Artemis Fowl and the Icarus Revolution, and the Vergil Hemlock series.

My writing style will probably appeal to other audiences now. I really wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of my stories, showing the darker sides of many of our beloved characters, and introducing us to new ones.

That being said, I hope you enjoy the story that will follow.

Aurum Potestas Est

The First


	2. Chapter 1

Life after death is always difficult to understand.

In the case of Artemis Fowl II, this phrase tends to be quite literal. In the current timeline, at this present moment, this iteration of Artemis Fowl was sitting in the traditional lotus position on a rug in his lavish room, Armani suits abandoned for the moment in favor of a simple _gi_, eyes closed and mind in a state of intense thought and concentration. Death had, in a sense, changed much about Artemis's personality, and the now 20 year old prodigy spent much of his time attempting to unlock more of his already vast potential. This meant, of course, spending most of his time meditating, thinking and plotting, which was, in retrospect, not so unusual.

Still, thought Butler, his charge had changed to his core. Death tends to do that.

And yet, this… inertia in his charge was making him restless. No new plots, no new projects, no contact with the outside world, with the exception of an occasional call to Holly or Foaly. To most of the World, Artemis Fowl II had never risen from the grave, and Artemis seemed to wish to keep it that way.

"I'm at a crossroads in my life, Butler." Artemis had said to him, "For the first time since I can remember, I can do absolutely anything I wish, be whomever I choose, and that is quite daunting. I don't think I've ever been in the position where I have no idea how to proceed due to an abundance of choice. Do I choose option A or option B? Go left or right? Up or down? Why not both? Why not everything? Why do I need to do anything at all? I feel lost, old friend, and I need to find my path again."

Butler could understand the sentiment, but also felt amused at the wisdom his charge was showing when a few years ago the only path was the path to more gold. Who knew what was in Artemis's head though, maybe tomorrow he'd be approached with a new plot, scheme or plan. So long as Artemis's head stayed on his shoulders, Butler was a happy camper, if by camper you mean a hulking behemoth with a two Beretta .32 caliber "Cheetah" handguns in his shoulder holsters, a CRK Model Mark IV combat knife in his belt and R&D Stryker Tomahawk strapped to the inside of his jacket.

Artemis, of course, was doing more than meditating. Meditation, he had realized, was simply a way to free the mind in order to achieve more efficient thinking. Pin-point focus on the issues which were most salient and block out all external distractions. He was currently focusing on the newest crime statistics from Haven City sent to him from Foaly, and comparing them with those Butler's associates had sent him. He was working on something big, bigger than previous plans, on a grander scale than his last exploit. A different angle, but still with a chance to profit.

Artemis opened his eyes and smirked. He was ready for phase 1.

* * *

Foaly's booth rarely had visitors, and uninvited ones were unheard of. Foaly's paranoia about industrial espionage had turned his office into what was jokingly called "Foaly's Fortress of Solitude" by many rookie cops in the LEP, not that Foaly minded. So one can imagine his surprise when he walked in on someone sitting in his chair, and that someone being someone who wasn't exactly of Fairy origin.

"I always wondered what a centaur chair was like Foaly. It's very… strange" said Artemis, smirking.

Foaly shook his head, trying to set aside the shock of having someone break into his office.

"It's made for four legs not two, mud boy, now get off please and tell me why I shouldn't call security for breaking and entering." He said curtly. Foaly and Artemis tended to have a respect for their mutual genius, however Foaly tended to draw a line at trespassing.

Artemis laughed and clutched his chest in mock outrage.

"Why Foaly, it's not breaking and entering if your security lets me in. I greased a few palms to get here and your security just… let me in. Possibly due to my current body being created in here?"

Of course, the mud boy's current body had been created in the lab, as a clone of his original self, the security must have read the organic cells as Foaly tech and let him in. He'd have to correct that.

"… As for the whole Boy, name-calling, I'm 20 now Foaly. At least have the courtesy to call me Man, if you would. Anyway, if you'd please call Holly for me, we need to discuss… privately. My channels are being watched, as usual."

Artemis's tone gave Foaly pause. He seemed serious, and yet there were no emergencies that he was aware of, no crises that needed immediate attention. Something was up, but what, he wasn't sure. Still, calling Holly wouldn't hurt, and so he beeped her to come up.

"What is it, Foaly? I was in the middle of training rookies how to shoot straight." Came a feminine voice from the doorway. Holly Short had seen better days. Exhaustion had taken its toll on the young captain, and dark rings had formed on the mocha skin under her mismatched eyes and her auburn hair strangely disheveled.

"My apologies, Holly, I'm the one the who had you come up," quipped Artemis, looking at her state with a raised eyebrow "and may I say you look quite awful today. Have you been trying to wrestle with trolls? Or maybe had a bad argument with Mul-". He didn't have time to finish his sentence as he was embraced in the Captain's bear hug, who was deceptively strong, in spite of her size.

"You need to visit more often Artemis. Dead people don't really have commitments, so you have plenty of time to come." She accused. Artemis was surprised to note how, in spite of her edginess, Holly seemed surprisingly vulnerable and almost girly around him. It was baffling to say the least. Not that he minded, of course, it was a nice change from the punches on the shoulder. Instead of saying any of these sentiments out loud, however, he peeked over Holly's head at Foaly and said, "See Foaly? Artemis. Ar-Te-Mis. If Holly can get it right, it shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" He smirked at Foaly's reaction, disentangled himself from Holly and sat on the floor in his lotus position.

"Now, as I was saying. I have a proposition for the LEP, which I don't think Commander Kelp should hear just yet, as it involves something not quite legal. Actually, let me rephrase that, because it is not illegal per se, just simply not covered by law. No lawmaker could predict rebirth, and I seem to have fallen in a crack in the legal system. I can't commit any crimes if I'm dead, can I? So you'll have appreciate the enormous sacrifice I'm making by telling you this and, instead of taking advantage of the situation, offering my services to the LEP as a consultant."

Holly was a little shocked, but maintained her composure and said "He's such a good boy, isn't he Foaly?" laughing internally at Artemis's scowl.

"What makes you think we need your help Artemis?" said Foaly, looking intently at the human sitting on his floor that appeared to be meditating of all things.

With his eyes still closed, Artemis answered levelly "I've seen your latest crime statistics, Foaly. Robberies have been up exactly 279 percent in the past month, as have burglaries and other home entries. Your informants have told you that the Extortion racket is up as is the Smuggling racket."

"How did you get that information? Those numbers came in less than three hours ago."

"Your machines aren't as secure as you thought, Foaly. You've been getting sloppy. And all the evidence suggests that Haven's organized crime just got more organized."

"What do you mean, Artemis? Haven's mobs hate each other. They always have. What changed?" Said Holly, puzzled at the statistics.

Artemis rose from the floor, brushed past both Holly and Foaly, and pressed a button on the console, ignoring the centaur's protests. A map of Haven appeared on the largest screen.

"Me, rather, the lack of me." Artemis pressed another few buttons and certain areas in the outskirts of the city were shaded red, with darker burgundy circles in hot spot areas of the city. "My presence, and, to a lesser extent, that of Opal Koboi, had kept the LEP occupied on other matters. You were distracted, and rightly so, seen as the word 'catastrophe' seems to be involved a lot where I'm concerned. This distraction, however, gave the three main mob families of Haven time to grow. The dark burgundy circles show their original spheres of influence, the light red, where they work now. While the LEP was busy working with me, the Mobs were busy expanding and butting heads with each other. Now, however, with things so neatly tied up two years ago, the LEP has returned its full attention on Haven. I think that's the problem. With Opal Koboi dead and myself 'dead', the LEP has returned to doing its job: keeping crime off the street, only to find that they no longer have control."

Holly looked at the map, and then at Artemis. "What do you mean?" she said, "LEP isn't less effective, our armaments are improving. It's only a matter of time before we drive back the Mob. We've always done it."

"Yes Holly, you're right. I've seen the numbers, but this time is different. The takeover is too methodical, too calculated to be random crimes. I believe we are dealing with one person here. Someone has united the mob families."

Foaly slouched back in his chair. "Suppose you're right Artemis. Why unite the families now? What's the catalyst?"

"A common enemy. Mutually assured destruction. There are many reasons why the various organized crime families would pick one man to lead them." Artemis quipped, and, noting Holly's puzzled face, Artemis turned to peer through the glass and pointed at Commander Kelp grilling the new recruits. "And there's your common enemy."

Artemis's offer was accepted soon after that. Foaly met some bureaucratic opposition to Artemis's work visa, however that was quickly brushed over as Artemis was, albeit begrudgingly, given Haven citizenship, having been "born" in Haven, at least physically.

He was given a small apartment overlooking the LEP plaza with Spartan furnishings. Primarily white and angular, the apartment looked more like a padded cell than a place to call home. Still, it had a roof, and Artemis appreciated the generosity of the LEP. Holly had come to visit him a few times already, bringing groceries and other supplies. Artemis had spent this time chatting about the state of Haven, and looking outside the window. This, of course, irked Holly to no end.

"Artemis, we're off work. Stop thinking. Relax, enjoy yourself, you're a resident of Haven now." She said, as she sprawled herself on his sofa, which was distinctly too small for him.

Artemis said nothing, instead moving towards the window, his face grim. Holly had never seen him like this, not even during his criminal years. Death had changed Artemis, made him more serious, almost as if the person standing before her was merely a reflection of the former child genius who had abducted her all those years ago. Wordlessly she got up and moved towards him, brushing his shoulder with her fingers.

"Artemis…"

"There's a storm brewing, Holly. The clouds are forming, getting darker, how long before the lightning strikes?"

"How do you know that? For all you know this Mob story could end tomorrow."

"I don't know. It's a gut feeling I have."

"And since when do you trust gut feelings? Geniuses don't trust gut feelings, they use logic, remember?" she said, punching him on the shoulder.

Artemis looked at her and gave her a wan half smile. "You're probably right. I'm being irrational, which is something I should avoid."

Holly wasn't convinced. There was something in Artemis's eyes that didn't convince her. There was something that wasn't being said here. Still, she didn't press the matter. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, the truth would come eventually.

"Well Artemis, I'll take off. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone." Holly said, while she moved away from the brooding human towards the door. As she opened the door, she glanced back and whispered "What are you hiding, Artemis Fowl?"

* * *

Haven Terminal was one of the busiest places in Haven City. Unlike the Upper Terminal, which dealt with surface transport and was operated by the LEP, Haven Terminal was very much a civilian operation, connecting the markets of Haven with the affluence of Atlantis and its consumers. Hundreds of Thousands of Elves, Pixies, Sprites, Dwarves and the occasional Goblin took the Express train to Atlantis every day, and some had even set up shop within the Terminal in order to cater to the needs of the many travellers.

One such person was an Elf called Augustus Fern, an unremarkable middle-aged elf selling Vole Curry to the many travellers. In spite of the humbleness of his profession, the Ferns were an old and respected family of Haven, and Augustus honored the good name of his family by offering, as he called it, "the most exceptional Vole Curry of Haven". In spite of this claim, which was incidentally also written all over the small cart he used to peddle his wares, Augustus was overwhelmingly ignored by many of the people travelling. Times were rough, no doubt about it, thought Augustus as he continued to announce his special curry, his voice slowly getting hoarse.

"The Express Train 814 to Atlantis will be departing in 15 minutes" announced a lazy voice over the intercom of the station, "Please make your way to the train in an orderly fashion."

While Augustus Fern unsuccessfully attempted to sell his curry, a small atlantean child attempted to pull an elderly atlantean lady along. "Come on Granmomma, the train is leaving soon!" he chirped, gills quivering with excitement as his grandmother struggled to keep up with him. "Alright, settle down there. I'm going as fast as I can" she said benignly, smiling at the boy's excitement, knowing full well there was no way they could ever make it to the train on time. For her grandson, this was the first visit to Haven City, and for all intents and purposes it hadn't been a dull one.

Watching these interactions and many others like these was a tall, slender-looking elf. He was wearing simple clothes, had no redeeming features to speak of and was completely unnoticed by all of the travellers rushing to reach their destination. Which, all in all, was not a negative thing. After all, when the few survivors of today's events recounted what had occurred here, no one would remember seeing him, let alone give any credible description of the culprit. Not that he planned to leave any survivors of course, but it was good to have a contingency.

"The Express Train 814 to Atlantis is now departing." Came the same disinterested voice from the intercom.

Let the festivities commence, he thought.

The tall elf moved against the herd of people heading towards the various train tracks towards the exit and left the station. He then moved towards the observation deck and silently observed the train moving out of the station in an elongated glass tube that sinuously moved past the horizon towards Atlantis. Placing a hand in his pocket, he found the remote device. The device was a small object with three buttons on it, easily identifiable by touch so as to remain inconspicuous in his pocket. He pressed the first one. One by one all the entrances and exits to the terminal began to lock up. All security cameras ceased to function as they were removed from the network, save of course, for the one he had planted to show the world the magnificence of his work. People attempting to leave the station banged against the robust glass of the doors. Haven had done away with manual doors years before, considering them barbaric. Fools. He then looked towards the train slowly picking speed and pressed the second button.

An explosion rocked the tube the train was travelling in, blowing out much of this portion of the track, the train sailing out of control through the water and, without the pressurized tube keeping it protected from the weight of the water, the train flattened ever more until all the travellers either drowned or were crushed by the weight of all the water surrounding them.

Through the now gaping hole of the train track, water began rushing into Haven Terminal, as people, carts and even pieces of the flooring were swept towards the unmoving entrance of the terminal, the few lucky ones died on the spot as their heads cracked against the reinforced glass. Others were not so lucky as they began to drown in the cold, salty water. As if to put an end to their suffering, and to ensure no survivors, the tall man began to move away from the scene and pressed the third and final button. Inside an azure light began to move through the building as a Bio-Bomb, a blue rinse, was detonated inside the terminal. All stragglers were killed instantly, as were some of the onlookers who had pressed their faces to close to the glass in order to see.

The camera that the tall man had placed had, amidst all this chaos, recorded the whole incident, and was somehow streaming it live to a certain centaur's monitor without his permission. After the blue rinse completed its cycle, the screen went dark, with the words "Repent, for the end is near" appearing on the screen. In the LEP headquarters, on the other side of the city, Foaly retched.


	3. Chapter 2

Reactions at the LEP were as to be expected, Artemis mused. A lot of shouting across rooms, Commander Kelp was bellowing into a headset and doing a fairly good impression of the late Commander Root, facial complexion and everything. In fact, the only person who was not in a state of disarray was Foaly, who had been absolutely silent since the attack. He had taken to playing a piece of the footage repeatedly: That of the initial sweep of the water in the station. In particular he had zoomed in on a small Atlantean child and an elderly lady. When the water came roaring in, the child was forced off his feet, and, in spite of his gills, the force of the water pushed him towards the glass. While there was no body to be seen, a small, red colored stain had been left on the door.

When Artemis went to go talk to the centaur, Foaly was extremely pale, a haunted look in his eyes.

"Foaly," Artemis said calmly, albeit keeping his eyes off the monitor, "you need to come out. People need you. Commander Kelp specifically asked for you".

Foaly didn't meet his gaze. "Artemis. This wasn't an attack. This was a message. They sent the message for me, not the LEP."

"You think it was the families?"

"Since when have the families engaged in terrorism?" replied Foaly, pausing to replay the footage again.

"Since when have the families had a single person telling them what to do? You're right, this is not their traditional Modus Operandi, but who else has access to the kind of resources to pull this off? Placing explosives in an underwater train track? Hacking into the Haven Terminal mainframe, a _Bio-Bomb_. It can only be them."

"What kind of monster could do this, Artemis? You have to understand, Fairies don't attack other fairies. Not to this scale at least. We aren't human, Mud Boy."

Artemis decided to let that slide, as he gestured for the centaur to follow him, but Foaly refused to leave his seat, rewinding the tape again. Wordlessly Artemis left the booth and walked over to Commander Kelp's desk. The veteran policeman was wearing a headset mic and was speaking with an angry tone of voice, which could only make Artemis feel sorry for the poor fairy on the other line.

"What do you mean nobody saw him? He placed a BIO BOMB in the middle of a crowded terminal and nobody saw him? Is this a joke? I don't care if there are no tapes, LOOK AGAIN. Don't call me again until I have some results!"

The Commander tore off his headset and threw it to the ground in a rage.

"D'Arvit! This is a nightmare!" he shouted at no one in particular, then, noting, Artemis's presence. "Ah, Mud Man, how's Foaly?"

"Incapacitated is putting it lightly. Chances are you will not be able to count on him for a while." Said Artemis, trying to imitate Butler's curt, military style. Artemis and Trouble Kelp knew each other by reputation but had never truly worked together before.

"Artemis, leave the Butler-talk to Butler please," came Holly's voice from behind him "Speaking of, will he be joining us down here? We could use his experience; the People don't deal with terrorists very often."

Artemis paused, looking, unsure. He then took a deep breath and said: "No, I don't think he will. Butler left my service before I came here. Personal issues". Holly knew Artemis well enough not to push the issue, she could see the unresolved pain in his eyes as he said it.

"Well then, now that that option is off the table, let me see if I can take over for Foaly. I've used his systems long enough to know how they work and Foaly can't help us right now." He continued, pointing towards the booth.

"If you say so Fowl. Get those systems back up and running, and see if you can run a trace on that camera feed. I want every single scrap of data we can get. Short, get out there and get me some hard facts. Also dig up Mulch from whatever hole he's wandered into, he'll have a sense on who's running the show with Mob."

"Agreed Commander, I'll go tell Foaly to get some rest." Said Artemis, still looking sullen, and yet strangely resolute.

Holly also looked over at the booth, then turned back to face Kelp and said: "Yes, Commander, I'm on it. I'll need some tech, though. With Foaly out for the count, is there anything new I can rely on?"

"Unless the Mud Man can dig up something, you're going to be doing this Old School. Will that be a problem?"

Holly chuckled, "No Sir, it'll be just like the academy"

"Then both of you get to work, dismissed."

* * *

Foaly was sent home that afternoon. Commander Kelp granted the centaur a leave of absence, which allowed him to stay home and recuperate. The Communications Booth was dark and abandoned. Out of respect to the centaur and his equipment, Artemis had set up his terminals and communication apparatus on a desk outside of the booth. To the outside viewer, the human was doing exactly what fairy he had replaced was doing: replaying the crime video again and again. What this outside viewer wouldn't know, however, was what was going through Artemis's mind. After having meditated and performed the cleansing ritual, he was able to put aside sadness, anger and revulsion, and dispassionately analyze what was, to date, the only clue they had. What had fascinated Fowl the most was the timing of it all. The locking of the doors, the explosion, and the bio bomb had not only gone off exactly as planned, but had also gone off at exactly the right time, at irregular intervals. It was too calculated, too grisly to have been committed remotely via a computer. Moreover, with the cameras disabled, the perpetrator must have been on location to watch his handiwork. It was for this precise reason that he had asked Holly to meet him.

"How can I help you, Artemis?" she asked, her usual flight suit discarded in favor of standard LEP attire.

"Ah yes, I need you to go on location. I would go myself, but I fear my presence here is required. Also, the families are counting on Foaly being otherwise disabled. They want us blind. We still have the element of surprise here, let's not squander it."

"Agreed. What am I looking for?"

"Specifically? I don't know yet. All I know is that our perpetrator was on site to activate the bomb. I need you to find clues. Can you do that?"

"Count on it. Have I ever let you down before?"

Holly had opted to go down to the shut down in civilian clothing. It avoided questions and made her trip look less important than it actually was. She was, of course, provided with standard Foaly tech to put her in contact with Artemis at all times: In-ear communicator, Iris-Cam and Throat Mic. She was, essentially, Artemis's eyes and ears on ground.

Nothing in her training, or Artemis's experiences, could have prepared them for the devastation there. Bodies were still being removed from the terminal, some of them seriously mangled from the sheer pressure of the water. The pressure was, of course, the biggest problem with the retrieval of the bodies: the ones that had slammed against the glass doors were the first ones removed, due to their relative closeness to the LEP retrieval workers. The victims of the exploded train car, however, were still floating in the water under the weight of miles of water and some had already been partially eaten by the underwater wildlife.

"Focus, Holly. We can grieve another day."

"Right. See anything interesting?"

"Well, the water makes things hard to see. But this is what I can tell so far: our suspect could have seen the inside of the terminal from anywhere, but we the first explosion occurred outside the terminal, in the train track. If you can find and flag the spot where we can clearly see both the tracks and the terminal."

"Got it."

Holly wandered around the area as much as she could. The LEP had cordoned off several areas, so it made snooping around hard. After 20 minutes of fruitless searching she ended back in the terminal plaza.

"Artemis, there's no spot like the one you described. The architecture of the plaza makes it so that you can either watch the trains leaving and arriving by the Arrivals area or enter the Departures building. They're separate," said Holly as she walked into the center of the plaza and spun around to give Artemis a full view of what she meant.

"Wait, Holly, stop! Turn back around." Came the voice in her ear, a little forcefully for her taste, but she held her tongue.

"What do you see?"

"What was that railing up there, on the far end of the plaza?"

"Touristy stuff. A few restaurants overlooking the plaza, LEP has set up shop on there to oversee operations."

"That's our spot, Holly."

"But it's so far way, Artemis. How could he see both?"

"The terminal front is glass, right? What if he stood up there and watched the trains leave on the far end_ through_the terminal? I'll bet a glass of whatever form of recreational liquor you drink down here."

"Even if it is, how can I get up there? It's completely locked down."

"You're the field agent, Holly, improvise."

Holly mumbled a few curses under her breath, as she trekked over to the LEP operations tent.

"I heard that" Artemis said disapprovingly.

"You were supposed to." She growled.

The LEP had set up an improvised pavilion where the coroner could inspect the bodies and attempt to salvage them as much as possible. They had also taken advantage of the lack of customers in the restaurants to use the tables and chairs to hold their equipment and officers. The fairies that had been working security day and night were sleeping in the booths. She pitied them: Grunt work was hard, tedious and didn't pay very well. The big salaries in Retrieval were in the higher ranks. Something she rarely admitted to anyone was that the higher entry-level wages was one of the reasons she chose Recon over Retrieval.

The steps to the upper level were cordoned off from the rest of the plaza; with a sign reading "This is the site of an ongoing investigation. LEP access only, no civilian entry". Holly looked around and pointedly walked under the cordon and walked up the stairs, and began to overlook the plaza.

"Artemis, are you seeing this?"

"Yes Holly, the prospective is perfect. I believe you owe me a drink"

"Shut up and tell me what to look for now."

"See if there is any surveillance of that spot of the plaza. We've been so focused on the terminal itself; we've been ignoring the rest of the plaza. Pan 360 degrees. We're looking for cameras, any kind of audio surveillance, legal or non."

"Alright. Standard security procedure would place cameras on the store and restaurant fronts to capture people breaking and entering. So… cameras should be… oh no…"

One of Holly's worst fears suddenly materialized in front of her in the form of a sprite in an LEP officer's attire, wings folded back for comfort, long flowing locks that would make most female elves envious and name tag emblazoned with the words "C. VERBIL. Senior Taskforce Officer."

"Excuse me Miss, this area is clo… My, my, if it isn't Holly Short. How is my favorite police elf? It's been a while since we've been a firefight together."

"Chix, we were in one firefight together and you got shot after 5 minutes, spending most of it writhing on the ground."

"Holly, I'm sorry to interrupt such a romantic moment, but keep it civil please. Don't arouse suspicion," piped Artemis in her ear.

"Oh come on Short, you know you loved it. Why didn't you return my calls?"

Holly flushed and could almost see Artemis sniggering in the LEP Headquarters.

"Holly! For shame, how could you be so rude?" Artemis laughed.

"Fowl, I swear, if you don't stop talking…" Holly muttered through clenched teeth, trying to maintain a smile.

"You know, I think I see why Foaly enjoys this so much"

"Did you say something Holly?" chirped Verbil

Holly was almost shaking, but forced out some words in the form of an "Oh no, nothing" and obliged the sprite with her fakest smile.

"I see," said the sprite, placing his hand on her arm in what he thought was his most seductive voice, "so why are you in my neck of the woods? Business? Or… pleasure?"

Ignoring the howls of laughter coming from Artemis's end, she brushed the hand off.

"Business" she replied curtly.

Chix squinted suspiciously at her, looking her up and down.

"If you're on LEP business, why aren't you in uniform? Why are you in Civilian Clothing?"

_D'arvit!_thought Holly. She had forgotten what she was wearing. Then, as she was preparing a quick reply, she noticed a camera over the Sprite's soldier, attached to the front of a Vole Curry Boutique.

"Artemis, are you getting this?" she murmured, while offering platitudes to the sprite, and offering to leave immediately.

"Crystal clear. Don't bother coming back to HQ, meet me directly at my apartment."

* * *

Foaly didn't walk home directly after he had been temporarily suspended. Instead he went to a sprawling park close to his apartment called "The Centaurian Gardens". The gardens had been developed by an eccentric Centaur, Augustus J. Roan, who had envisioned a place with Centaur-specific facilities and Centaur-friendly attractions. The tranquility pond was Foaly's favorite spot: A babbling fountain of recycled water set in an actual antique Centaurian relic. At the center of the fountain was a giant metal cube. It was completely seamless with centaurian text in small squares wrapping around it.

It was here that he had met Caballine, and it was here where, in those brief periods of time off he was given, he spent most of his time, simply clearing and purifying his mind, and if there was any a time for mental purification, now was it. His mind had a turmoil of anger, revulsion and an irrational guilt fighting with his rational, logical and calm self. Every justification he tried to come up with was countered with the image of blood on the glass.

Foaly shook his head and took a deep breath. "Time to go home, Caballine will be waiting." he muttered to himself.

He moved through the park, and slowly made himself to his apartment on the third floor of a fancy building in one of the nicer areas of town. The LEP paid well, he mused.

As he moved into the elevator, he smiled, the first one today, as he realized his wife might be the only one to make him feel better. For all of his inventions, IQ and practical genius, deep down Foaly knew she was the only one who he considered to be his more intelligent than he was. Chuckling to himself, he turned a corner and faced his door.

It was open.

Foaly walked through the doorway.

_The door was open_

The house was completely ransacked, though nothing had been stolen.

_The door was open_

"Caballine?! Caballine?!" shouted Foaly, with no answer

_The door was open_

He frantically moved through the rooms of the apartment, moving finally into the bedroom.

_The door was open_

Of Caballine, there was no sign. Hanging from the one of the ceiling lights was a noose, with a foal hanging dead in it, its hooves bent in an unnatural fashion and it's tongue stuck out in what had appeared to be asphyxiation. Its eyes had since glazed over and the corpse was slowly rocking as if moved by some unseen breeze.

Foaly collapsed to his knees and began to weep and scream in horror and desperation.

_They have my wife._

_They have my wife and the door is open._


End file.
